Lakeview mental health unit delay
Deputy O'Loughlin raised delays to the Lakeview mental health unit in Kildare South, saying funding had been promised and the design team was stalled. The Taoiseach said he did not know the details but would ask the Health Minister to reply by correspondence, while also suggesting the Deputy was misleading constituents.
CHO, community healthcare organisation, area 7, in my constituency of Kildare South, has the lowest number of mental health beds per population. In 2016, a commitment was made by the Government that €5.5 million would be spent on the Lakeview unit, beside Naas hospital, which deals with mental health patients.
That building was to start in 2017 and be completed in 2019. In a reply to a parliamentary question I was told that the design team was stalled. Two weeks ago the reply to another parliamentary question advised that a new design team would be tendered for at this point.
I have a real concern that there is a delay in this building because of the overrun on the national children's hospital. I know the Taoiseach said earlier that projects would not be delayed. I am concerned that this building, which is so important to the care of people with mental health issues and the staff, would be delayed. We are now going back to ground zero once again. I want the Taoiseach to give me his reassurance that we will get this vital facility and that it will not be delayed because of the overrun on funding.
Comment on this
I am afraid I do not know the details of that particular project, but I will ask the Minister for Health to provide the Deputy with a reply by correspondence.
I will say this again. There are projects throughout the country, including in my constituency, that will be and are delayed for all sorts of reasons. It might be that they do not yet have planning permission or that somebody has appealed it to An Bord Pleanála. There may be a judicial review or problems with design and tender. The project itself may have come in above the budget allocated for it. I have no doubt that unscrupulous politicians throughout the country will try to exploit the national children's hospital issue to make out in some way that their local-----
Comment on this
They are just constituency matters.
